Cannes– Described as ‘ironically historic’ by Reed Midem CEO Paul Zilk, a new incarnation of MIP Asia is to launch November 2008 in Hong Kong.

Called ‘Amazia’, it is billed as ‘the first pan-Asian, business-to-business exhibition and conference devoted to the creation and distribution of international entertainment content across all delivery platforms.’

While begging the question why Reed Midem would organize such an event in Hong Kong, at a similar time to the Reed-organised Asian Television Forum in Singapore, Zilk emphasized that Amazia is a “truly fully-converged concept. It is not a substitute for ATF or any other exhibitions. The same (timing issue) applies to MIPCOM which precedes it and MIDEM which follows it.”

The relevance of other key Reed Midem events becomes apparent in Zilk’s explanation. “Amazia.. will be the only multi-platform, content-driven market in the Asian region, bringing together… the key Asian players and their international counterparts from the entertainment industry,” says Zilk. “(It) will combine the best elements of our successful MIPTV featuring MILIA, MIPCOM, MIDEM television and music markets, along with other entertainment content industries such as games.”